BIG 12 TOURNAMENT OUTLOOK: 03.12.10 (Open Game Thread)

by BracketCat on Mar 12, 2010 4:00 PM CST in Men's Basketball

Two games. Four ranked teams. One crappy TV network.

Let the Big 12 Final Four begin.

My dream is a 50-50 Sprint Center tomorrow — half blue Hawk and half purple Cat.

Yeah, it probably will be closer to 70-30, but a guy can dream, can't he?

Of course, we both have to survive pesky Texas teams first, so don't count your Jayhawks before they're hatched and don't look a gift Wildcat in the mouth.

Sagarin Predictions

No. 1 Kansas 67, No. 4 Texas A&M 61 (6 p.m.)
No. 2 Kansas State 90, No. 3 Baylor 89 (8:20 p.m.)

Both of today's games will appear on the Big 12 Network — unfortunately.

Baylor is going to be very difficult to beat a second time.

Last time, we held LaceDarius Dunn and Ekpe Udoh to 17 combined points. That will be extremely difficult to duplicate.

The first game got into the 80s, and that was without Denis Clemente shooting particularly well. I think this will be even more of a track meet.

But I have faith in the Cats to get it done, even though the Bears will want revenge just as badly as we did last night.

I just think this tournament is destined for a Sunflower Showdown (Part 3) title game. Plus, the crowd will be heavily in our favor tonight.

Should be fun. If you can get up here and you don't have tickets yet, please try. We can't let the Hawks take the place over.

Yesterday's Results

No. 1 Kansas 80, No. 9 Texas Tech 68
No. 4 Texas A&M 70, No. 12 Nebraska 64
No. 2 Kansas State 83, No. 7 Oklahoma State 64
No. 3 Baylor 86, No. 6 Texas 67

Well, this tournament certainly is more chalky than last year's, and I don't just mean Rock Chalky.

Despite assertions to the contrary, I think there is a small gap between the three 11-5 teams that secured byes and the teams behind them that still will be in the NCAA Tournament.

Yeah, Mizzou finished 10-6, but the Tigers were somewhat lucky to beat us and easily could have been 9-7 like the other two. Plus, look no further than their performance two days ago to see why they're not on the same level this season — especially without Justin Safford.

What it all adds up to is this: Tonight's games should be the best two of the tournament yet, since KU and K-State finally will meet up with worthy opponents.

But I still think Baylor and Texas A&M are a slight notch below the top two (remember, K-State really should have been 12-4, if not for that inexplicable Senior Night stumble), and I expect that to play out tonight.

Poll

Who will play in tomorrow's championship game?

No. 1 Kansas and No. 2 Kansas State

93 votes

No. 1 Kansas and No. 3 Baylor

20 votes

No. 2 Kansas State and No. 4 Texas A&M

4 votes

No. 3 Baylor and No. 4 Texas A&M

1 votes

118 votes | Poll has closed

0 recs | 435 comments

Comments

Intensity

The ‘Cats need to come out with the same type of intensity they had last night. I could sense a swagger about the team that hadn’t been there for a few weeks.

powercat12 - March 12, 2010 reply

Can you imagine

ESPN between 10:30 tonight and the game tomorrow after we beat Baylor and KU beats A&M? Nobody saw us get thrashed in the 2nd half last week, so all they’ll remember is Gameday.

AlwaysaWildcat - March 12, 2010 reply

Last Week

I wish I could wipe last week’s game from my memory. I believe the Big 10 is vastly overrated. Ohio State would be in the middle of the pack team in the B12 imo. They nor Purdue don’t deserve to get a number one seed.

powercat12 - March 12, 2010 reply

Apparently, Brackins is going pro, Gilstrap was denied another year, and Iowa State's basketball program has been nuked.

In a way, this makes me feel better about last week, but in reality, nothing will make me feel better about losing to ISU. Ever.

Bring On The Cats